watch + listen
Have you seen the YouTube channel Rare Earth by Chris Hadfield and Evan Hadfield?
The first series is set in Japan—there are seven relatively short videos (usually 10 minutes or less)—and series two on Cambodia has just started. I’m sure you’ll find both really interesting.
My family has been watching and loving the Japan series. They're fascinating, sometimes unsettling, always thought provoking. Here's one we liked:
Today at 11 am, in schools, libraries, bookshops and homes around Australia, people were simultaneously reading The Cow Tripped over the Moon. So if you have a child in school in Australia, they probably heard this brilliant story.
It’s a wonderful fractured fairytale, and here's author Tony Wilson talking about and reading the book:
So great!
How many Dr Seuss books can (or could) you recite by heart? There was a time when I could rattle off the whole of Green Eggs and Ham while driving—Thomas would sit in his car seat behind me, flipping the pages at the appropriate moment while his two younger siblings looked on. I could give Fox in Socks a good crack too, though I did sometimes have to agree with Mr Knox:
“I hate this game, Sir. This game makes my tongue quite lame, Sir.”
All the Dr Seuss rhymes are brilliant for little kids who are learning to read, as that great-fun video points out.
Just in case any of the six children I birthed are starting to panic, here’s my Mother’s Day Book Wish List—I make one very year.
Quite often no one buys anything from it because they know full-well that if they don't I’ll just end up buying them anyway. Still, here’s this year’s list, more or less in order of preference:
Just a little quickie here—because this video came to me this morning and I have to pay it forward! There are >1.7m views on youtube (and counting) but I'm pretty sure many would be return visits. I did my bit!
First, here's the star of the show—KPtheBaby.....
Fabulous, entertaining and thought provoking watch+listen, everything you could want in a lecture.
Muhammad Yunus is one of the great human enablers of our time. He took micro-loans to the women of Bangladesh at a time when their voices were not heard and their faces not seen. The concept of loans going to them rather than to their husbands was terribly difficult for them to grasp and only Muhammad's break-out understanding and actions were able to make it happen.
His understanding was clearly expressed last night on ABC Television's Q&A as he said: "When a woman says no [to accepting a loan], it is not her voice. It is the voice of history that created her."
Some really useful how-to's from specialists in their brainy fields + three 'brain' books we've liked a lot—you might find them interesting too....
Have you come across Libraries Without Borders? They’re a non-profit group that seeks to provide access to libraries to people who have been impacted by conflict, humanitarian or natural disasters. When basic needs such as food, water and shelter are so pressing and overwhelming, the very human needs for culture, intellectual stimulation, comfort and information can easily be overlooked. That’s where LWB (or BSF, the French acronym) comes in.
This mini-documentary (only 25 minutes) tells the story of a Holocaust survivor, the violin he acquired in a displaced person camp and how it came to be in the hands of a young girl living in the Bronx. So much generosity, gratitude and love shown here.
Stephen Burt is a poetry critic (surely that’s a rarity in the world of work!) He oozes enthusiasm for poetry as you’d expect—here’s a TED talk he gave a few years ago. It’s full of great reasons to love and share poetry.
ages 5 years and up (if you're willing to read out subtitles)
Here’s a wonderful movie that you might like to try for a family movie night. Children of Heaven is an Iranian film about a boy who loses his sister’s only pair of shoes. Their family is poor and their mother is ill so the children conspire to share the boy’s shoes. It’s sad, funny, charming and troubling all at once.
The New York Times have re-tweeted this article by Donna De La Cruz as one of their most engaging stories of 2016. It sure is. Here are a few of the achingly wonderful replies from kids who were asked to finish the question "I wish my teacher knew"....
When John Lewis accepted the 2016 National Book Awards prize, his emotions and words brought tears to eyes as he remembered a librarian who refused to allow him to borrow books because of his skin colour...
In this great video, Sir Ken Robinson asks:
"How do we educate our children to take their place in the 21st century?"
When Angus was close to due and I was looking at a few nights in hospital with my hands full of baby, I decided to dive in and give audio books a try. It was a great decision! While I still love traditional reading (really, nothing compares), I've discovered that there's room for more than one kind of book in my life - I've listed three reasons, maybe you'll relate?
There are so many fast and witty grabs in this 3 minute video that we can safely quote from it without being the least bit of a spoiler, like ...
An all-round wonderful life-affirming story about how Josh Spencer worked through his own suddenly and dramatically altered life circumstances and grew an amazing bookshop.
Books can be the ideal place to search for ideas, or new dreams, or role models. Here, Lisa Bu shares some favourites and talks about he joys of comparing and contrasting - a great way to approach reading and life!
In this post: podcasts, 23 fabulous books, a TED talk, lots of brain food + rollicking entertainment!
for all ages
A brilliant hand shadow video + a couple of fun books to make your own hand shadows on a lazy evening - for all ages!
This is such a fun TED talk by Mac Barnett! It's energetic and witty, with lots of parenting/teaching tip offs. Plus more from the very impressive Dave Eggers' 'once upon a school'.
Did you watch it? I know, soooo good. Links here to @LevarBurton and @NeilTyson. But seriously, no pun intended, the planets are lining up for a revival of Good Night Moon. (Did it ever go away?)
It's a nostalgic revival, yes, but also an adult recognition and a nod to a book that's as effective and heartwarming now as when it was first published in September 1947—70 years ago!